Movie script done and dusted

Armando Iannucci has written a comedy movie about inept robots trying to take over the world. 

He says he’s finished the script and is now looking to take the project to the next stage.

The Veep and Thick Of It mastermind revealed the idea behind the film on the latest episode of Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Podcast, which was released yesterday.

‘It’s based on the premise that if you go on YouTube now and look at robots, they’re rubbish,’ he said. ‘They fall over and can’t pick things up.

‘So the premise is: what if the software was brilliant so their minds are just streets ahead of us, but the hardware is still that [primitive]. But they decide now is the time to strike.  The brain is saying "subjugate all humans" – but physically they’ve gone too early.’

But pressed on one of Herring’s sci-fi obsessions, Iannucci had to insist: ‘There’s no sex with robots.’

Iannucci is currently editing his next movie, Death Of Stalin, which is expected to be released in late spring next year.

‘It’s about the power struggle in the Kremlin when he dies,’ he explained.  ‘It’s all based on true events.’

It stars Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, Michael Palin as Molotov, Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov and Simon Russell Beale as the villainous Lavrentiy Beria.

‘Stalin was responsible for millions of deaths almost as many as Hitler, Iannucci said. ‘But he’s almost got away with it. You can joke about it or the language… you can say to someone "aah, come on, comrade" but you can’t say to someone "You Nazi". That’s seen as toxic yet Stalin can somehow be seen – fortunately for me – as the subject for a light-hearted look at the events.’

Published: 14 Oct 2016